THE blueprint for Hampden was drawn up when both Rangers and Celtic were investing heavily in their own grounds.

It was the Scottish Football Association, in the formidable shape of former chief executive Jim Farry and his immediate predecessor Ernie Walker, who set the ball rolling for the Hampden refurbishment in April 1992.

Then, the SFA council unanimously decided it represented the best option for a national stadium.

A report submitted by the National Stadium Committee, established by Hampden's owner Queen's Park FC to try and find funds to redevelop the stadium, was preferred to multi-million pound projects for Lanarkshire, Linwood, and even Bannockburn.

Mr Austin Reilly, a former president of Queen's Park and current director, was appointed to head The National Stadium plc, a wholly owned subsidiary of the club. He later became involved in controversy and was privately accused of incompetence by backers when it emerged the multi-million project was substantially over budget.

Mr Farry's favoured plan for his ''field of dreams'' was opposed by Mr Fergus McCann, former chief executive of Celtic, and Rangers' chairman David Murray, among others.

They argued cash directed towards Hampden's refurbishment would have been better chanelled towards helping league clubs meet ground improvement costs in compliance with the Taylor Report which followed the disasters at Hillsborough, Heysel, and Bradford.

Mr McCann and Mr Murray put forward the case for staging international matches at either Parkhead or Ibrox, pointing out that no other European city had three modern stadiums which could seat more than 50,000 supporters.

In the event, it appeared renewing Hampden was more to do with history, heritage, and emotion than commercial logic. The first proposal to transform Hampden into an all-seater stadium, which included an 18,000 sq ft shopping centre - subsidising more than half the cost - was rejected after a public inquiry.

The revised plan for a 55,000 all-seated stadium included offices for the SFA, six dressing rooms, gyms, a sports injury clinic, food outlets, executive boxes, a lecture theatre, and the Scottish Football Museum.

Any profits made by the stadium enterprise were expected to flow through the national stadium (TNS) to the parent company, Queen's Park.

More than #45m in public money was given to TNS, the bulk of it from the Millennium Commission which contributed #23m in December 1995. Other contributors included the Football Trust, the Scottish Executive, Glasgow City Council, and the Glasgow Development Agency.

The stadium was completed just in time for last season's Scottish Cup. Financial problems surfaced three months later with threats of legal action from the main contractor, Sir Robert McAlpine, which issued a #4m writ for unpaid work.

It later emerged the original project cost had risen from #51m to #65.7m due to specifications being increased, additional works being added without permission, and acceleration of the completion ahead of schedule. Further controversy surfaced when it emerged that Hampden debenture seats were given to McAlpine's to help offset debts.

Last month, the National Stadium development was saved from collapse when Scottish Sports Minister Sam Galbraith said a #4.4m rescue deal, including #2.2m from the Scottish Executive, was all but secured.

The deal included an #800,000 annual rental deal with the SFA. Queen's Park turned down the package which would have transferred the running of the stadium to the association.

The club's decision to call in administrators means the Hampden saga now enters yet another period of extra time.